UY  O  ^  <- 


Modern  France 

and 

The  McAll  Mission 


Mission  Populaire  Evangelique  de  France 

Bureau  36  Rue  Godot  de  Mauroi 
Second  Street  East  from  the  Madeleine 


By 

GEORGE  T.  BERRY 


Field  Secretary  American  McAll  Association 


ILLUSTRATED 


“The  present  hour  is  decisive  for  the  evangelization  of  our  country. 
We  are  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  most  complete  liberty ;  we  shall  be 
culpable  if  we  fail  to  take  advantage  of  it." 

O.  BEIGBEDER,  Director  of  the  Mission 

“  There  is  nothing  to  prevent  France  becoming  Christian.” 

RUBENS  SAILLENS 


American  McAll  Association 

1710  Chestnut  Street,  Philadelphia 
1909 


A 


The  Annual  Fete  at  the  Solidarity  in  Nantes 


MODERN  FRANCE 

AND 

THE  McALL  MISSION 


The  McAll  Mission  was  born  during  the  birth- 
Origin  throes  of  the  new  France — exactly  on  August  18, 

1871,  less  than  a  year  after  Sedan  and  but  three 
months  after  the  Commune. 

A  Communist's  remark  was  responsible  for  the  Mission's 
beginning : 

“We  are  done,”  said  this  man,  “we  workingmen  of  Paris,  with  an 
imposed  religion ;  we  are  ready  to  hear  a  gospel  of  freedom  and 
earnestness.” 

The  remark  was  addressed  to  Robert  W.  McAll,  an  English 
Nonconformist  clergyman,  who  was  passing  his  summer  holi¬ 
days  in  Paris  and  while  he  was  engaged  in  distributing  tracts  in 
the  district  of  Belleville.  Five  months  later  the  minister  was 
settled  in  Belleville,  preaching  the  Gospel  asked  for. 

The  history  of  the  Third  Republic  and  of  the  Mis- 
A  Double  sion  have  proved  the  obscure  workingman  to  have 

Prophecy  been  a  prophet.  The  end  of  official  religion  came 
thirty  years  later  with  the  closing  of  the  religious 
orders  and  disestablishment ;  the  People's  Mission  founded  by 
Dr.  McAll*  has  been  welcomed  throughout  France. 


*For  many  years  Dr.  McAll  wore  the  red  ribbon  of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  bestowed 
upon  him  by  the  President  of  the  Republic  “for  his  services  to  humanity.”  He  died 
on  Ascension  Day,  May  11,  1893. 


4 


The  Mission’s  first  station  was  a  modest  little  shop 
transformed  into  a  meeting  hall  with  seats  for  forty 
persons.  The  simple  announcement  over  the  door 

To  Workingmen 

Some  English  friends  would  like 
to  tell  you  of  the  love  of 
Jesus  Christ. 

Admission  Free. 

The  Report  for  1909  records: 

Seventeen  stations  in  Paris  and  suburbs ;  twenty-seven  stations  in 
the  provinces;  two  chapel  boats  on  the  rivers  and  canals;  one  portable 
hall;  one  automobile  engaged  in  itinerant  evangelization. 

In  all  over  10,000  meetings  were  held  during  the  year. 


An  Experiment 
of  Faith  and 
its  Justification 


Le  Bon  Messager 

(Launched  1892) 

La  Bonne 

Nouvelle 

(Launched  1902) 


The  cruises  of  the  two  floating  chapels,  the  Good 
Messenger  and  the  Good  News,  along  the  silent 
highways  of  the  Seine  and  Loire  valleys  have 
extended  the  influence  of  the  Mission  beyond  the 
cities  and  towns  to  the  peasantry. 


The  Bon  Messager  on  the  Oise 


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The  story  of  the  ministry  of  these  strange  little  craft  has  been  a 
continuous  romance.  Each  boat  has  a  seating  capacity  of  but  a  hundred 
and  sixty.  Yet  in  the  two  hundred  and  fifty  missions  held  on  board,  they 
have  together  preached  the  Gospel  to  an  audience  aggregating  three- 
quarters  of  a  million.  A  special  brochure  on  this  picturesque  feature  of 
the  Mission  may  be  had  from  the  Bureau  in  Philadelphia. 


La  Semeuse — The  Portable  Llall 


During  the  past  summer  a  portable  chapel  (maison 
The  Portable  demontable)  bearing  the  significant  name,  La 
Hall  Semeuse  (the  sower),  was  dedicated  to  the  work  of 

proclaiming  the  Gospel  along  the  highways  as  the 
boats  have  done  with  such  phenomenal  success  along  the  water¬ 
ways.  If  the  reception  accorded  this  new  “instrument  of  evan¬ 
gelization”  during  the  three  weeks  of  its  first  “mission”  may  be 
considered  prophetic,  the  story  of  the  boats  will  be  repeated  and 
continued.  La  Semeuse  accommodates  comfortably  a  hundred 
and  fifty  people.  Two  hundred  were  present  on  the  evening  of 
the  inaugural  service  and  a  Sunday  school  of  ninety-five  was 
gathered  together  before  the  end  of  the  “mission.” 


6 


The  Directors  of  a  number  of  'the  McAll  stations, 
Fr  ench  Tem-  as,  for  example,  Lille,  Desvres,  Rouen,  Limoges, 

perament  and  St.  Etienne  and  Marseilles,  make  recent  mention  of 

Evangelization  the  increasing  “stability"  of  the  work,  of  the  stead¬ 
fastness  of  its  converts  and  of  their  desire  for  a 
deeper  spiritual  life.  A  permanent  influence  on  individual  and 
community  life  is  the  Mission’s  ultimate  aim.  But  France,  and 
especially  at  the  present  moment,  offers  a  peculiar  field  for 
specific  “evangelical'’  effort. 

The  unchurched  masses,  weary  of  “ecclesiasticism,”  are  yet  open- 
minded  and  receptive — ready  to  “think  it  over.”  This  the  boats  have 
proved  in  countless  instances,  particularly  in  connection  with  their 
enormous  sales  of  Bibles  and  Testaments.  The  portable  hall  at  the  very 
outset  tells  the  same  story.  M.  Sainton,  likewise,  in  his  auto,  making 
the  rounds  of  the  country  fairs  and  market  places,  meets  everywhere 
with  the  same  experience — willingness  to  look  into  the  evangelist’s 
claims,  to  buy  a  Testament  and  take  it  home  for  examination.  M. 
Beigbeder’s  statement  (see  cover),  “The  present  hour  is  decisive,”  etc., 
is  most  significant  in  view  of  this  open-mindedness  of  the  people.  The 
Mission's  present  call  to  “do  the  work  of  an  evangelist”  is  imperative 
and  the  field  co-extensive  with  France. 

To  reach  the  workingmen  of  the  larger  cities,  how- 
The  Problem  ever,  more  elaborate  methods  are  necessary  today, 
of  the  Cities  The  mentality  of  these  men  has  greatly  changed  in 

a  generation.  Along  with  the  recent  extension  of 
education — of  the  power  to  think — has  come  doubt,  skepticism 
and  even  atheism.  Add  to  this  the  debauch  of  pernicious  litera-  ♦ 
ture  and  the  fearful  ravages  of  alcoholism,  and  the  difficulty  of 
attracting  to  the  Gospel  those  whose  religious  sense  has  been 
thus  dulled  is  evident. 

It  is  the  determination  to  get  men  of  this  temper 
The  Word  within  hearing  that  has  led  to  the  “social"  features 

Made  Flesh  which  the  Mission  has  recently  added  in  some  of  its 

more  strategic  centres,  such  as  Grenelle  and  the 
Maison  Vertc  in  Paris;  at  Lille,  Roubaix,  Rouen,  Nantes, 


7 


Limoges  and  elsewhere  in  the  provinces.  The  success  of  this 
“outward  reach”  has  been  particularly  marked  in  connection  with 
temperance  leagues. 


“Temperance  work  gains  us  men,”  says  M.  Monod,  of 
St.  Quentin.  “There  are  six  hundred  members  in  our 
temperance  society,”  writes  M.  Canet,  of  Limoges,  who 
has  also  been  appointed  lecturer  on  moral  questions  in 
the  schools  of  the  city.  A  “Temperance  Night”  at  the 
“People’s  Hall”  at  Lille  brings  out  an  audience  of  a  thousand. 


T  emperance 

Leagues 


Monsieur  Sainton  Preaching  from  His  Auto 

Open  debates  on  burning  moral  or  political  ques- 
Conferences  tions  between  some  distinguished  government 

Contradictoires  functionaire  and  a  skilled  opponent  from  the  Mis¬ 
sion’s  staff  serve  equally  to  bring  the  work  of  the 
Mission  to  public  notice — to  attract  otherwise  indifferent  men  to 
the  hall  where  the  Gospel  is  preached. 


8 


Sunday  and  Thursday  afternoons  the  children  come 
With  the  Chil-  to  the  halls  and  boats  for  instruction  in  the  Bible, 
dren:  E coles  To  conserve  the  impressions  thus  made,  and  so 
de  Qarde  easily  dissipated  by  the  deplorable  influences  among 

which  they  live,  Ecoles  dc  Garde  (schools  of  over¬ 
sight)  have  recently  been  established  by  the  Mission. 

At  the  Montmartre,  Bercy  and  Grenelle  halls  in  Paris,  for  example, 
may  be  seen  five  afternoons  in  the  week,  under  watchful,  loving  care, 
from  a  hundred  to  four  hundred  children  getting  their  lessons  for  the 
next  day  and  romping  in  the  commodious  courts — safe  from  the  tempta¬ 
tions  of  the  streets  when  school  is  out  and  until  fathers  and  mothers 
alike  have  returned  from  work. 


The  Mission’s 
Converts 


These  unite,  so  far  as  they  can  be  persuaded  to  do 
so,  with  the  church  nearest  to  them. 


At  the  last  annual  meeting  of  the  National  Asso¬ 
ciation  of  Baptist  Churches  in  Pastor  Saillens’  church  in 
Paris,  at  the  popular  evening  meeting,  M.  Saillens  called  for  a  show  of 
hands  of  those  present  who  had  been  converted  in  the  McAll  Mission, 


Lace-Makers 


9 


and  half  the  audience  stood  up.  The  Free  Reformed  churches  of  St. 
Etienne  and  Rochefort-sur-mer  owe  three-fourths  of  their  members  to 
the  McAll  stations  in  their  respective  cities.  At  Rouen,  last  year, 
after  eighteen  months’  instruction,  twelve  families  were  recommended 
by  M.  Vautrin  to  the  Reformed  Church  and  received  into  its 
membership. 


Where  the  prejudice  against  the  “€11111x11”  runs  so  deep 
that  it  cannot  be  eradicated,  the  converts  are  formed  into 
“fraternal  societies,”  receiving  special  instruction  through  per¬ 
sonal  conferences,  Bible  classes  and  prayer  meetings — the 
Mission  waiting  patiently  the  while  until,  perhaps,  in  a  second 
generation,  when  the  New  Testament  shall  be  better  under¬ 
stood,  confidence  in  the  “Church”  shall  once  again  come  to  be 
in  France. 

Without  the  co-operation  of  the  Protestant  churches 
The  Mission  and  the  success  of  the  Mission  would  scarcely  have  been 

the  Churches  possible. 

From  the  beginning  die  French  pastors  have  given  their  help  gen¬ 
erously  as  speakers  in  the  halls  and  as  members  of  committees.  The 
membership  of  these  churches  have  also  gladly  and  graciously  lent  their 
aid.  Of  financial  help  the  French  churches  can  give  but  little.  In  flesh 
and  blood,  however,  they  have  contributed  five-sixths  of  the  Mission’s 
staff.  At  the  Maison  Vcrte,  e.  g.,  twenty  of  the  Sunday  and  Thursday 
Bible  school  teachers  are  young  women  from  the  Reformed  Church  of 
St.  Esprit. 

As  just  said,  but  one-sixth  of  the  Mission’s  staff — 
The  Budget  about  five  hundred  in  all — are  remunerated  workers. 

The  actual  running  cost  is  accordingly  quite  out  of 
proportion  to  the  size  of  the  work,  varying  from  $50,000  to 
$60,000.  Of  this  amount  one-half  is  contributed  from  the 
United  States,  one-third  from  Great  Britain  and  the  rest  mostly 
from  Canada,  Switzerland  and  France. 


Members  of  the  Paris  McAll  Board  in  President  Bach’s  Garden 
From  left  to  right  (seated)  :  Messieurs  Merlin,  Beigbeder,  Bach,  Rouilly,  Benham, 
de  Grenier-Latour ;  (standing):  Messieurs  d’Aubigne  and  Greig 


The  Committee  of  Directors — fifteen  in  number — 
Direction  is  composed  of  clergy  and  laymen  of  five  different 

denominations  and  of  as  many  nationalities. 

M.  Louis  Sautter,  the  honorary  President,  is  a  retired  Paris  banker; 
President  Bach  is  a  Lutheran  pastor  in  Paris;  M.  Beigbeder,  the 
Director,  is  an  engineer  in  the  French  Army  ;  the  Associate  Director, 
M.  de  Grenier-Latour,  is  the  descendant  of  men  who  gave  their 
lives  for  their  faith  after  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes; 
Rev.  H.  Merle  d’Aubigne,  the  American  Correspondent,  is  the  son  of 
the  historian  of  the  Reformation;  the  Second  Vice  President  is  the 
pastor  of  the  American  Church,  Rev.  Chauncey  W.  Goodrich.  Bishop 
Ormsby,  of  the  Church  of  England,  was  added  to  the  committee  recently. 


The  American  McAll  Association  was  organized  in 
The  American  1883  “to  aid  the  evangelistic  mission  in  France, 
McAll  Asso-  known  as  the  McAll  Mission,  in  the  promotion  of 
ciation  a  Pllre  Christianity  in  France."  Sixty  societies  are 

included  in  the  Association. 

Mrs.  Charles  H.  Parkhurst,  of  New  York,  is  the  President.  There 
are  twenty-two  Vice  Presidents,  representing  fifteen  States.  Mrs. 


1 


1 1 

Abraham  R.  Perkins,  of  Germantown,  is  the  Treasurer;  the  Corre¬ 
sponding  Secretary,  Mrs.  H.  L.  Wayland,  of  Philadelphia;  the 

_  * 

Recording  Secretary,  Mrs.  John  H.  Scribner,  of  Philadelphia;  the  Gen¬ 
eral  Secretary,  Miss  Harriet  Harvey,  1710  Chestnut  Street  (Bureau), 
Philadelphia.  Twelve  members  constitute  the  Board  of  Directors. 


The  successful  passing  of  the  Separation  Law 
The  Mission  revealed  the  strength  of  democratic  sentiment  in 
and  the  New  France.  That  revelation  has  been  received  as  the 
France  signal  for  a  forward  movement  on  the  part  of  every 

progressive  force  in  the  Republic.  For  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel  it  is  today  the  supreme  hour  of  oppor¬ 
tunity  in  more  than  two  centuries.  French  Protestantism  is 
utterly  unequal  to  the  task  of  evangelizing  its  own  country. 

There  is  but  one  Protestant  church  to  every  40,000  people.  In  the 
eighty-six  Departements  of  France,  twenty  have  no  Protestant  church 
at  all.  Twenty-four  have  but  one  each.  Thus  in  more  than  half  of 
France  there  is  not  one  church  to  a  D cpart emcnt. 

Meanwhile  Catholicism  has  so  far  lost  its  grip  that  the 
Catholic-Bonaparte  party  cannot  poll  a  million  men.  And  the 
masses  fall  more  and  more  under  the  spell  of  the  anti-clerical 
leaders,  who  declare  that  “the  idea  of  God  must  be  banished 
because  it  is  an  obstacle  to  social  progress.’1 

If  France’s  39,000,000'  are  to  be  brought  under  the  power  of 
the  Christ,  that  end  can  be  reached  only  through  outside  aid. 
The  American  McAll  Association  invites  your  co-operation 
toward  this  great  result  of  a  Christian  France. 


Visitors  to  Paris,  wishing  to  know  more  about  the  Mission, 
should  communicate  with  Rev.  H.  Merle  d’Aubigne  (Corresponding 
Secretary  for  America),  at  46  Boulevard  des  Invalides. 


Publications  of  the  American  McAll  Association  may  be  had 
from  the  General  Secretary,  Miss  Harriet  Harvey,  1710  Chestnut 
Street,  Philadelphia. 


Checks  should  be  drawn  to  Mrs.  A.  R.  Perkins,  Treasurer,  302 
West  Upsal  Street,  Germantown,  Philadelphia. 


